Social Media in the Workplace: Legal Issues
Source: The Marc Rosenberg Blog
The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from a blog entry by Marc Rosenberg.
I have led an MP roundtable group of half of the largest local firms in Chicago for over 20 years. In October, the presenter was Frank Saibert, chair of the Labor & Employment Group of the law firm of Ungaretti & Harris. The topic: Social Media Pitfalls. Here are the highlights:
- Fifty-three percent of employees think their social media pages are none of their employer's business.
- Sixty-five percent of employers used software to block employees' access to certain websites.
- Sixty-one percent of employees say they will not change their online activity even if their boss is watching.
- Over one-third of employers decided not to hire a candidate because of his or her social media profile.
Half of the roundtable firms carry EPLI (employment practices liability insurance) for losses not covered by D&O or comprehensive general liability, such as claims related to social media.
It is illegal for an employer to visit the Facebook or LinkedIn profiles of prospective employees as a way of ruling out candidates based on their age, gender, or physical disability. Forensic IT professionals can discover whether or not you visited these sites.
Several states have passed laws that prohibit employers from requiring -- or even asking -- current or prospective employees to provide login information for their social media sites. Don't try to be sneaky: An employer cannot use someone else's password to access an employee's Facebook profile if the employer is not an invited guest.
It is legal for employers to block specific employees' access to social media sites on their company computers, and to discipline employees with a track record of surfing social media sites on company time.
For the complete post, read "Social Media Legal Pitfalls."
From The Marc Rosenberg Blog, October 31, 2012, http://blog.rosenbergassoc.com.